The Art of Grouping in the Classroom

The days of a teacher simply standing in front of the class and lecturing while the students either repeat or take notes is over, and a number of different techniques are used in the classroom to enhance the learning of the students involved. A good teacher will employee techniques that cater to all different types of students and learners. Some of those techniques involved strategically choosing different groupings for their lessons whether they be whole-group instruction, within-class grouping, or flexible grouping. These different choices in grouping can help to enhance the lesson and how much knowledge is actually gained and maintained. Thus, as an educator it is important to have a firm grasp of what each type of grouping is, and how they can be effectively implemented in the classroom.

Whole-group instruction means that students are taught as a single body. (Abraimi, Lou, Spence, 2000). A perfect example of the whole group style is when a teacher addresses the entire class while giving instructions on an assignment or introducing a new objective. Whole-group instruction lends itself best for reading that is either done aloud by the teacher or shared by students in the class, explaining science concepts, social studies explanations, or engaging in interactive writing assignments. (Annenberg Media, 2007).

As illustrated by the examples above, whole-group instruction works best when an objective can be met using the input or attention of a wide variety of different learning levels. For example, if a teacher is introducing the principles of a science concept to the class there is no need to break the class up into groups. The objective of the task, to introduce a new concept, can easily be met by all students in the class irregardless of their level or interest. In contrast, application of this new concept might best be suited in groups where students of equal level can work together and get help from the teacher as needed. This is where within-class grouping comes into the picture.